Rainy skies fail to dampen Memorial Day spirit in Chelan

CHELAN — Wind swept steadily off Lake Chelan on Memorial Day evening, carrying light rain through downtown as American flags snapped against their poles and parade lights reflected off wet pavement along Woodin Avenue.

It was not the kind of weather residents expect in the valley in late May. Not cold enough to drive people away, but cool, gray and damp enough to test the resolve of anyone standing curbside waiting for a parade. Even so, families and veterans gathered shoulder-to-shoulder along the street Monday evening to honor those who never returned home from war.

Members of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6853 led the annual Memorial Day parade through downtown Chelan on May 25, joined by representatives from American Legion Post 108 in Manson after the two communities each held separate observances earlier in the day.

In Manson, concerns had emerged in the days leading up to Memorial Day that ongoing road construction near Legion Park could force the cancellation of the town’s annual ceremony. Instead, organizers relocated the service to the Manson Fire Station, preserving the tradition despite the disruption and ensuring the community would still gather to remember the nation’s fallen service members.

Following the morning ceremony in Manson, members of the American Legion traveled to Chelan to participate in the evening parade, which began at 7 p.m.

Before the procession stepped off, the Chelan Patriotic Singers gathered at the corner of Woodin Avenue and Emerson Street for a public recital of traditional and patriotic songs. Their voices carried through the downtown corridor as they performed “Amazing Grace,” “America the Beautiful,” “Home on the Range” and other familiar standards while spectators slowly filled the sidewalks nearby.

As the parade began, emergency lights flashed against rain-darkened storefronts while veterans, royalty and community groups made their way through downtown beneath low clouds and intermittent drizzle.

The procession included members of the VFW and American Legion, Miss Lake Chelan royalty, Manson Apple Blossom royalty, military vehicles, fire apparatus, Chelan County Sheriff’s Office vehicles and a “Hometown Grown” float celebrating local community pride.

Children waved from the sidewalks while parade participants returned salutes and greetings from the street. Some spectators crossed their arms against the wind while others simply stood in the rain, unwilling to miss a tradition that, for many families, has marked Memorial Day in Chelan for generations.

Though quieter and more subdued than a sunlit parade might have been, the evening carried its own kind of solemnity. American flags stirred in the wind, patriotic songs echoed down wet streets, and the community gathered anyway because remembrance mattered more than the weather.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media